Bush Fires; US burn

Under Bush, Americans suffered two monumental disasters, all in September. In September 2001, terrorists attacked America, killing 5,000 people. Seven years later, a more lethal attack against America happened, this time threatening the very lives of each and every American. Again, it was both a failure in intelligence and plain and simple negligence.

Two disasters in two serious fronts. How will America recover from these huge bush fires? First, a real, physical threat now, a crisis in money.

Former president Bill Clinton said, a certain amount of regulation should be put in place to avert a further slide of the US economy towards recession. The British already did that, putting into regulation two troubled financial firms. Will the US do the same? Obviously, with the rejection of the bailout plan, the Bush administration will have to do it the hard way.

The US Congress sent a strong message with the rejection. For Bush, we don't trust you. Bush failed on two fronts already--the global anti-terror campaign and the economy. Reports say the anti-terror campaign did not weaken Al Qaeda, despite the Bush administration forking billions of dollars worth of the people's money. And now this.

I think the core issue lies on the lack or absence of trust. Americans have lost trust in Bush due to these failures.

Bush and his treasury chief are the ones to blame for the mistrust Americans have about this administration. During the first and second quarters of this year, Henry Paulson have been going the rounds, assuring the public that the US economy is on a recovery mode. With that, Bush gave a State of the Nation address, even mentioning that the government is having success in repairing the damaged economy. A few months after, disaster struck.

The solution is not a bailout. Government must try its best to tell people to again trust the system. Money will flow if people trust the system enough of their monies.